City Council

Lyn Semeta, Council Member

Lyn Semeta was raised in Orange County by her father, a former naval officer and retired architect, and her mother, an Occupational Therapist. She graduated from Huntington Beach High School, received her B.A. from U.C.L.A. and her Juris Doctorate from the University of San Diego, School of Law.

Councilmember Semeta began her law practice as a Business and Real Property attorney in San Diego and served as Chair of the Community Services Committee for the County Bar Association. Her three-decade commitment to community service has included leading and serving on numerous non-profit Boards. She has provided pro bono services to homeless veterans and battered women, including as one of the initial volunteer attorneys at the Superior Court Domestic Violence Restraining Order Clinic. She was co-founding Chair of the Women's Resource Fair for Homeless and Battered Women which has been operating for over 25 years. As President of the Gaslamp Quarter Foundation, Councilmember Semeta worked with developers and property owners who were restoring and redeveloping historic buildings into successful entertainment and dining establishments.

Lyn and her husband Richard, a Tax, Securities and Mergers and Acquisitions Attorney, returned to Huntington Beach in 1996 to raise their two daughters. When their younger daughter was diagnosed with autism, Lyn's commitment to alternative dispute resolution led her to serve as Co-Chair of the OC Autism Resource Circle. During an era of increased litigation in special education, the group's mission was to build consensus between parents of children with special needs and school administrators in an effort to channel funds away from litigation and into better services for the children. She has mentored many special needs parents over the past twenty years.

Councilmember Semeta has served on the Investment Advisory Board, the Design Review Board and the Planning Commission, most recently as Vice Chair, for the City of Huntington Beach.

Lyn is an award winning watercolor and mixed media artist. She has served on the Huntington Beach Art League Board, and is currently the League's Workshops Co-Chair.